


grip tight to who we once were

by zzzealousy



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Additional Tags to Be Added, Childhood Memories, Coming of Age, M/M, Minor Injuries, Rating subject to change, Slow Build, Time Skips, pov switching
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:35:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21645352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zzzealousy/pseuds/zzzealousy
Summary: but i'll still learn to love whoever you become
Relationships: Hop/Masaru | Victor
Comments: 23
Kudos: 91





	grip tight to who we once were

**Author's Note:**

> ****IF YOU ARE READING THIS ON MOBILE**** please rotate your screen. some of this fic may be entirely illegible otherwise
> 
> Also, because of all the CSS elements, please don't download this fic. It'll look pretty whack if you do

  
  


It’s a steep, lengthy slope down the dirt path connecting your two houses. 

He challenges you to a race, from your place to his, and you can’t imagine winning. You’ve never won before. He’s way more athletic than you, and has always been the faster runner. You’d sit on the sidelines and watch him play sports, cheer him on no matter the game. He likes baseball like his brother, but he’s a great swimmer and runner, too, and you think you’ll never quite catch up to him. But that’s fine. You don’t want to compete in any of those sports, you just want to get to be there when Hop does, every time. 

“If you can actually beat me, I’ll give you a kiss!”

Nevermind. You care very much about competing, about winning. 

Hop bolts as soon as he finishes counting down from three, sprinting as fast as his little ten-year-old legs will take him.

You do your best to follow his lead. You’re behind, already, but you think the slope of the hill will help propel you down faster if you can just pick up your pace a bit. You push yourself until adrenaline takes over, until you’re going too fast for your legs to keep up with, and you can’t keep your footing correctly. Your legs come out from under you in a flash and 

your whole body hits the dirt

in a painful collision. You manage to turn your head out of instinct, so the blow to your cheek isn’t as bad as the blow to your nose would have been. But the scrapes are much worse. Your forearms and the skin on your legs, exposed from the rips in your jeans, tear open. It’s only the first few layers, so the bleeding is minimal, but your whole body feels alight with burning flames as the stinging from rocks and dirt in your cuts is too much for you to process. This is the first truly painful thing you experience in life that you can remember.

You’re mostly silent, even in your pain. Sun beats down on your back, your face in the dirt, hot and burning all over. Honestly, you’re a little embarrassed. And, you’re a little too bashful to say anything about you falling, so Hop doesn’t notice until he’s almost reached the bottom of the hill. He turns back to see just how far behind him you are. But he doesn’t expect _this_.

“WOAH- Vic!” He skids to a half-halt before turning on his heels and making his way back up the hill towards you. 

You’re still not saying anything. You manage to push yourself up so you can sit, instead of laying in the dirt. Hop’s with you in an instant.

“Hey, are you alright!?”

You want to tell him you’re fine but you don’t think he’d believe you right now. He grabs your arms and looks you over, absolutely panicked. His inspection is quick because he can immediately see how beat-up you are, and you think maybe he can’t stand the sight when his gaze is torn from looking at you and looking anywhere else.

Hop’s eyes are blown wide. He has absolutely no idea what to do in this situation.

“MUM!” He screams up the hill to his mum, who’s currently in your garden out front with yours.

The two run over within seconds, never having heard Hop so terrified before. Neither have you. 

Your mum pats you softly on the back after viewing your injuries.

“Oh, it’s alright honey.”

She’s talking to Hop, not to you. You are well aware that you are going to be just fine. 

“Come, now; we’ll just get you cleaned and bandaged up, and you’ll be good as new.”

She helps you to your feet, but there’s no room for her to comfort you, hug you, hold you, when Hop is taking up all of you. He clutches onto your middle, your shoulders, anywhere you don’t seem to be injured. He grips tight to you until your wounds have been attended to. Even then, he seems reluctant to let go, wavering between keeping a hold on you and taking the oran berry jam on toast your mum has presented to him. You think you could sink into his arms like Wooloo wool, fall asleep in that warmth and never rise.

Eventually, he lets go, when you’re both sitting in your garden, a Budew on each of your laps. You breathe in the fresh smell of Summer along the Budew’s leaves while Hop smiles, bright as sun rays at seeing you safe. 

  
.  
.

.  
.

You don’t think Victor will be so eager to run alongside you, again. When you ask him to come hang out with you the next day, you’re sure he’ll be reluctant, maybe more shy about it than normal. Hanging out with you almost guarantees some competition between you two, and you just don’t think he’ll be up for it after his tumble yesterday. 

You haven’t told him, yet, but you’re hoping he’ll be your rival when you two undoubtedly become Pokemon trainers. Your brother, Leon, made a rival of his own on his way to becoming the Champion. So if your brother has a rival, then you’ll have one, too, when you take the title of Champion away from your brother one day. 

But you spot Victor from your window, running down the hill at his usual leisurely pace. He manages his signature sheepish smile at you when you go down to meet him in your yard, and nothing seems different. 

“Hey, you look ok! Except for all the bandages, of course,” you smirk. 

He tucks a lock of hair behind his ear. “Yeah, for sure! Kind of sore from the fall but...that’s alright.”

Victor jogs away from you to the other side of the yard to retrieve the soccer ball you both abandoned there earlier in the week. He kicks it over to you, lighter than normal and you think maybe his legs hurt more than how he’s playing it off.

“Don’t you wanna take it easy today?” You keep the ball under your foot, not sending it back.

“Not really. C’mon, kick it back!”

You pout, not caring if you look childish when your mum’s not around to get on your case about it. “But what if you get hurt again?”

“Mate, c’mon, I said I’m fine. I know I can’t keep up with you in sports, but I’m not bowing out just because I took a little fall.”

He’s come up to you, but you think it’s just to talk. Until, that is, he kicks the ball out from under your foot and runs away with it. 

Oh, he is _so_ going to be your rival.

But, even still, you can’t help the little part of you that worries about him, even when you fall back into the rhythm of playing. He’s still just as eager to play and run with you, even if his run is a little slowed, now, and he’s still got his ripped jeans on as if they aren’t the reason his exposed knees got all banged up yesterday. 

Even if he’s supposed to be your rival, you want him to be safe. The rest of the day goes as normal, though, with no more mishaps or falls, and you mostly forget the thought.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's 4:30 AM. if there are any mistakes, i'll fix them tomorrow
> 
> also short intro chapter but buckle up, kids; we're going to be here a while


End file.
